By Sara Escobar Correspondent The City of Harker Heights held their eighth annual Food, Wine and Brew Festival this past Saturday, September 10. The festival offered a variety of activities, beverages and food, with over 20 wineries and 15 craft brews to sample and purchase. The event also featured live music, a Wine 101 class, […]

By Sara Escobar Correspondent The City of Harker Heights held their eighth annual Food, Wine and Brew Festival this past Saturday, September 10. The festival offered a variety of activities, beverages and food, with over 20 wineries and 15 craft brews to sample and purchase. The event also featured live music, a Wine 101 class, […]

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By Sara Escobar
Correspondent

The City of Harker Heights held their eighth annual Food, Wine and Brew Festival this past Saturday, September 10.
The festival offered a variety of activities, beverages and food, with over 20 wineries and 15 craft brews to sample and purchase. The event also featured live music, a Wine 101 class, and held over 130 vendors from various cities who were selling and promoting their businesses.

The profits earned from ticket, wine, beer and food sales all go towards the city’s budget and is dispersed through the city’s chamber of commerce. The flow of the money earned is facilitated by Gina Pence, the president of the chamber.
The Chair of the Festival Committee, Jennifer McCann, says she couldn’t be happier with the with the festival’s success over the years.
“I think I say it every year, but this year’s festival was our best one yet,” McCann said after the event. “Our entertainers and vendors increase every year, and the growth in the city has just been exponential. I think we had around 600 attendees at the first festival, and now it’s well over 5,000,” McCann went on to say they won’t know their exact profits for a week or so, but she believes the money raised this year is significant than prior years.
But the festival does more than just raise money for the city of Harker Heights, according to McCann. “I love our city, and this festival helps put Harker Heights on the map. We’re having more and more people travel here to enjoy the city and that’s one of our highest regards. You don’t have to go to Austin to find something to do,” she said.
The city’s efforts seem to be paying off well for the citizens who live in Harker Heights and also those who live nearby.
“I’m definitely enjoying my time here,” said first-time attendee Whitney Clubb, resident of Killeen. “I could see myself coming next year, too. There’s a really great atmosphere here, and the wines taste great. It’s a great place to share smiles and time with your loved ones,” Clubb said.
For more information on events coming up in Harker Heights, check the city’s website.